Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Black Snake Moan (2007, Craig Brewer)

"A God-fearing bluesman takes to a wild young woman who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it."

Yeah, this film is about a guy who chains up a girl to his radiator and aims to cure her of her sexual wickedness. I remember when I first read that plot outline for the film I was both curious about it but also laughed a little bit at how stupid the idea of it sounded. Luckily, Brewer delivers a solid execution for an idea that could have easily been laughed at.

Brewer not only does that but also manges to execute a personal and heartfelt portrait of people finding redemption and hope in their lives. This factor is what made me like this film a lot and love Hustle and Flow a lot. Both films share this factor and both films also share some of the most original stories put on film in the past year or two. Who would have known that a film about a pimp wanting to be a rapper and a bluesman chaining up a woman would be so original and great?

Although I did like Black Snake Moan a lot, I didn't love it. I felt that in the end of the film some of the character didn't quite fit right. I felt that the character development was somehow rushed in the final 20 minutes or so. It's not that big of deal but in a film that deals with loss and depression so much I would imagine that the ending would feel more organic and more developed. Instead, it just comes in a hurry. But even with that, it does not take too much out of the film.

Craig Brewer has also become one of the most interesting filmmakers out there. in my opinion . and I am interested in seeing what kind of films he does next.